Gene Scheer

Composer, Librettist, Songwriter

“American Anthem” quoted in President Biden’s inaugural address

He Called His Song ‘American Anthem.’ It Actually Became One.

In his inaugural address, President Biden quoted Gene Scheer’s song, a patriotic hymn championed by the opera star Denyce Graves and recorded by Norah Jones for a Ken Burns soundtrack. Abby Ellin, The New York Times

Read the full feature article in The New York Times about the history of this beloved song.

Jan 21, 2021

← Denyce Graves, one of Justice Ginsburg’s favorite opera singers, performs for her one last time.
Pulling at heartstrings: ‘Violins of Hope’ live at Kohl Mansion →

CD Launch: Intonations: Songs from the Violins of Hope
January 27, 2021

The CD launch has been scheduled to coincide with observance of the 75th Anniversary of the Liberation of Auschwitz.

Denyce Graves sings “American Anthem” honoring Ruth Bader Ginsburg
September 25, 2020
National Statuary Hall, the Capitol, Washington, DC

Mezzo-soprano Denyce Graves sang "American Anthem" by Gene Scheer as Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg lies in state in the Capitol's Statuary Hall, Washington, D.C.

If I Were You World Premiere at San Francisco Opera
August 1, 2019 - August 6, 2019
Herbst Theatre, San Francisco, CA

Loosely based on the novel Si j’étais vous by the French-American writer Julien Green, If I Were You is a contemporary story of identity with echoes of classical literature, from Faust to Jekyll and Hyde.

Moby-Dick at Chicago Opera Theater
April 25, 2019 - April 28, 2019
Harris Theater, Chicago, IL

Chicago Opera Theater (COT) capped its 2018/2019 season with the Chicago premiere of "Moby-Dick," an epic adaptation of Herman Melville's 1851 classic "Moby-Dick; or, The Whale".

Joyce DiDonato at Jordan Hall
March 1, 2019
Jordan Hall, Boston, MA

Mezzo-soprano Joyce DiDonato makes her Boston debut with a program taken from her new album, “Songplay,” combining American standards — including Gene Scheer's "Lean Away" — with selections from “Twenty-Four Italian Songs and Arias of the Seventeenth and Eighteenth Centuries.”